This invention relates to an apparatus that may be used by a person who has difficulty in getting in and out of bed and/or moving from one position to another while in bed, and/or performing exercises while in bed.
It is often the case that an invalid or person with some physical condition which restricts or inhibits his or her movement whether due to weakness, restricted range of motion, pain or other cause, nonetheless desires to operate totally or as much as possible without assistance from others. For such a person, getting into or out of bed, or adjusting position in bed, as for example, from a supine to a side position, may be difficult or impossible. Such a person may also be required to or choose to perform exercises while in bed in order to help alleviate a medical condition or retain a degree of physical fitness.
Getting into or out of bed may be somewhat facilitated by the use of a hospital type bed--which can be raised or lowered. Bowever these beds are expensive, and not portable to other locations. Furthermore the installation of such a bed is inconvenient and bothersome in the case of short term conditions such as sprains or injuries. In addition, while such beds may assist in certain activities, such as exiting the bed, they do not assist in others, such as rolling to or from a side position. Nor would such a bed be of assistance in performing a wide variety of exercise as may be necessary or desirable for a bedridden or other person.
There are a number of patents which disclose devices to aid third parties in manipulating bedridden individuals. These devices may assist in placing an individual into bed, removing him or her from bed, or in positioning the individual upon the bed so as to avoid bed-sores, facilitate treatment, change bed linen, and so forth.
Thus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,925 to Littleton discloses a sheet which may be used by an attendant to manipulate a bedridden patient. The patient may be rolled from one position to another using this sheet and, by affixing handles at the edge of the sheet to different parts of a bed, may be held in a given position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,327 to Smith describes a sheet of flexible fabric used to transport and move a bedridden patient. This device contains looped handles at each corner, with the size of each of the loops being adjustable to facilitate ease of use by an attendant.
U. S. Pat. No. 4,473,912 concerns a backboard with carrying handles and tie-down straps for transporting patients.
None of these devices, however, is suitable for a person to use in assisting him or herself to get in or out of bed or for positioning or moving him or herself while lying or reclining in bed or in exercising in bed. Rather they are all designed to assist a third party in handling or moving a bedridden person.